"That is good," the Right Arm said with a sigh of relief. "Then, humanity has finally overcome the Seven Corruptors, the Trio of Destruction, and Death."
The Right Arm looked at the Champion with a smile. "The Eternals are next. I believe you can do it. You can free humanity."
The Champion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I just wish it wouldn't come at such a high cost."
"It is what I have chosen," the Right Arm said. "I am willing to give my life for humanity, just like everyone else."
"My time might have come early, but my silent spark will ignite the bonfire of hope."
The Champion took another deep breath.
"Can we go now?" the Inferno asked with impatience. "I'm not good with farewells."
The Champion looked at the Inferno and sighed yet again.
However, he didn't say anything.
"I'm not a monster," Nick said. "Yes, the two of them will go through some rough times, but I won't make them wish they were dead."
No one believed Nick.
He was a Specter.
"Take care," the Champion said.
The Inferno nodded, and the Right Arm just smiled.
The next moment, the Champion entered Aegis' headquarters again.
"Alright, so," the Inferno said, turning to Nick. "Where will we spend the remainder of our lives?"
In response, Nick opened his hand.
"Your Barriers, please," he said.
The two of them took their Barriers off without complaints and handed them over.
"You can keep your weapons," Nick said.
The Inferno raised a brow.
That was… quite bold.
"Follow me," Nick said as he moved into the ground.
The two of them looked at each other before following.
They were using some abilities to create light around them while traveling through the underground.
Suddenly, Nick stopped.
"I have to make sure that this is not a trap," Nick said.
"Stop explaining yourself and just do whatever you want," the Inferno said with annoyance. "What's the point of explaining stuff?"
Nick just nodded.
WHOOOOM!
Suddenly, Nick released his zone of darkness, and all the light around the two of them was consumed.
Their abilities that created light didn't work anymore, and the Nightmare assaulted them.
And yet, they didn't move.
They remained stationary.
After three seconds, Nick activated his upgraded ability and read their minds.
As long as someone was inflicted by the Nightmare, he could read all their memories in an instant.
A second later, light returned, and the two Shields regained control of themselves.
"Was that all?" the Inferno asked with a snort. "I can take more."
Nick turned to the two of them.
"I made the right choice in asking for you two," Nick said. "Deactivate your light abilities."
The Inferno snorted, but the Right Arm deactivated his light first.
The Inferno looked at the Right Arm, and he noticed that he didn't seem in pain.
But that didn't say much.
This guy always looked like he wasn't in pain, even when he was in pain.
The Inferno took a deep breath and deactivated his light ability as well.
He prepared himself for the Nightmare's torture, but…
It never came.
His eyes widened in surprise.
He was inside darkness, but the Nightmare was nowhere to be seen.
This felt… strange.
This had never happened before.
"I am not your enemy," Nick said. "I am humanity's ally."
The Right Arm just smiled bitterly, not believing Nick.
"Sure, you say whatever you want to say," the Inferno said.
"I think it's better if I just show you," Nick said. "Follow me."
Nick led the two of them to the northwest.
After a while, he stopped moving.
"Can you see it?" Nick asked.
The two of them used their senses to look forward, but they didn't see anything but rubble.
"Yeah, I can see all the rubble," the Inferno said.
"That's not what it meant," the Right Arm said with a bit of surprise. "There is actually a part in my perception that seems strange. It's like my perception is just washing over it. It feels like there's a blind spot in my vision."
"Huh?" the Inferno said, looking forward again. "Now that you mention it, yeah, it feels like that."
"What I am about to tell you," Nick said, "can never be repeated in the light. You must never speak of what you will witness. Otherwise, the Sun will know, and humanity is doomed."
This was the risk Nick had mentioned.
Nick was about to show the two Shields the truth of the world.
Nick approached the wall of the underground city and created a small entrance.
The three of them went behind the wall and entered a crawlspace.
The next moment, Nick closed the wall behind them and created a new entrance in the wall in front of them.
As soon as the entrance opened, the Shields' perception washed over the dark part of the underground city.
When they saw everything, their eyes widened.
Humans!
So many of them!
Even more, all of them were so powerful!
There were thousands upon thousands of Heroes, and there were tens of Protectors!
The next thing they noticed was the advanced technology.
While they didn't count as researchers, they still knew quite a bit about technology.
The technology was so advanced!
There were tiny Pure Energy generators everywhere with an output several hundred times faster than even their best Pure Energy generator!
"This is humanity's true resistance," Nick said. "Aegis is just a decoy. Aegis is in the light while we are in the shadows."
"This is why the Left Arm and the Technician followed me."
"They were the only Shields who knew about this."
The two of them hadn't recovered from their shock yet.
The entrance Nick had created was one-way.
They could look into the city, but the city couldn't see them.
Nick closed the entrance again, and their perception was cut off.
"Is this some kind of illusion?" the Inferno asked.
"It's not, but my words are not trustworthy in your perspective anyway," Nick answered.
"I don't think that's an illusion," the Right Arm said. "I can sense illusions to a certain degree, and I don't think this is one."
"I think this is real."
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